LSU (9-1) beat Mississippi 40-7 and needs only a victory over Arkansas to earn a spot in the Southeastern Conference title game Dec. 3.

Top-ranked USC survived another scare, defeating Fresno State 50-42 for its 33rd straight victory. The Trojans have run their record streak of No. 1 rankings to 31 straight polls, but their fight to the finish against the Bulldogs cost USC six first-place votes.

USC (11-0) received 50 first-place votes and 1,616 points. No. 2 Texas, which has been on the Trojans' tail since the preseason, received 14 first-place votes and 1,550 points.

The closest competition was for the fifth and sixth spots. Virginia Tech moved up to No. 5 after beating Virginia, ahead of No. 6 Notre Dame.

In the USA Today coaches' poll, USC lost six first-place votes (49-13) to Texas. LSU, Penn State and Virginia Tech rounded out the top five.

In the Harris Interactive poll, the top four teams occupied the same spots as in the AP poll, with Notre Dame fifth, Virginia Tech sixth and Ohio State seventh.

Help wanted

Columbia fired coach Bob Shoop a day after a 52-21 loss to Brown left the Lions with an 0-7 Ivy League season and a 2-8 record. Shoop finished 7-23 in three seasons at Columbia. He is the brother of John Shoop.